


Firsts

by fields_of_falafel



Series: The Misadventures of the Modern Hams [14]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, First Date, Firsts, Fluff, Making Out, Multi, Polyamory, Sharing Clothes, Valentine's Day, lucy is emo, most jeffersons are assholes, the jeffersons are pretty fucked up whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-14 01:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7145921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fields_of_falafel/pseuds/fields_of_falafel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every relationship has a list of firsts, including Philip, Theo and Lucy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Date

**Author's Note:**

> so it's been about a month since i finished 'and then there were three' (btw if you haven't read that I suggest doing so before you read this) and i've had this idea floating around for a while and now, ta-da, here it is. basically every chapter is going to be centered around a 'first', whether that is a first date, first valentine's day, etc.
> 
> this specific chapter takes place in January 2012

“Philip?”

“Yeah Theo?”

“Where are we going?”

“On a date.”

“I knew that much Lucy, but seriously Phil, where are we going?”

“On a date.” Phil and Lucy said in unison, followed by a quick high-five.

“Yes, but  _ where _ ?”

“That’s some need-to-know information and I’m afraid you don’t need to know.”

“Lucy knows!”

“Lucy found out.”

“Only because you’re really bad at keeping secrets.” Lucy piped up.

“You got me there.”

“Okay, but for real,  _ where are we going _ ?” Theo looked ready to rip her hair out. She was slightly obsessive like that, but the two loved her anyway.

“Should we tell her?” Philip asked his other girlfriend. 

“Yes!” Theo exclaimed.

Lucy ignored her and answered, “She’ll figure it out once we get there.”

“I’m breaking up with both of you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sure.”

Theo rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. She wouldn’t have long to wait anyhow, they were almost there.

Less than five minutes later they pulled into an outdoor movie theater and Theo looked like she was about to jump out of her seat.

“A drive-in movie?” Theo sounded like a kid and both Lucy and Philip smiled. Theo never got truly excited over anything, they both figured it was part of being a Burr. This was the hardest part of planning a date, in Philip’s opinion, because now he had to find something that both his girlfriends would like.

“Yep.” Philip puffed out his chest just a little. “Do you like it?”

Theo nodded. “What movie are we watching?”

“The Three Musketeers.” Philip said, and watched her face carefully.

She remained neutral as she said, “Which one?”

“’48.” He replied and Theo’s face lit up even more.

“I haven’t seen that one!” She said excitedly.

“Oh my God, you two are such nerds.”

Before they could reply Lucy continued, “I’ll go get the snacks, you two keep having fun.”

“Reese’s!” Philip shouted after her, followed by Theo saying, “M & M’s please!” Lucy gave them the thumbs-up as she walked away.

Five minutes later Lucy came back, arms laden with all sorts of snacks. Were they going to eat all of this? No. But did she buy it anyway? Of course. Lucy squeezed into the passenger side so that Theo was in the middle. Philip was lucky, he’d managed to get a car that fit all three of them in the front seat. Well, ‘fit’ was probably a strong word, but they managed.

The movie started and it was amazing how Theo was suddenly stuck to the screen. She didn’t even snack on her M & M’s, she was so enthralled. Philip, of course, was able to quote the movie and Lucy saw his mouthing the words every time she glanced over. Even she had to admit the movie was interesting, even though it was older than the three of them combined.

About twenty minutes into the movie Lucy had eaten half of the popcorn and she decided to do what normal people did in movie theaters. Tentatively she placed her hand on Theo’s upper thigh. Philip saw this, winked at her and set his hand further up on her opposite thigh. If Theo noticed she didn’t act like it. She just stayed engrossed in her movie. Lucy and Phil collectively slid their hands up her thighs, until they were just a few inches away from her waist. She finally noticed.

With a quiet grumble she smacked both of their hands away and went back to her movie. Lucy raised her eyebrows at him and he smiled mischievously, motioning to the backseat. She nodded and they (clumsily) moved to the backseat. Theo still didn’t notice and was now hugging her knees to her chest.

Philip and Lucy started making out in the backseat, and Theo still didn’t notice. Another half-hour passed and Theo was starting to become distracted. They’d started making noises and were being too damn loud for her taste. So, she managed to tear her eyes away from the movie and glare at her SOs in the backseat.

They stopped and glanced at her, only a little bit apologetic.

She pointed towards the seat. “You two get up here and watch the movie.”

Philip and Lucy couldn’t have moved faster but Theo stopped them when they tried to sit next to each other.

“Oh, no, you sit on either side of me.”

“Were we being too naughty?” Lucy smirked.

“I’ll show you naughty.” Philip winked, stretching his hand across Theo.

“Will you two stop being horny teenagers?” Theo slapped his hand away.

“But babe,” Philip began,

“We are horny teenagers.” Lucy finished.

“Watch the movie, heathens.” Phil and Lucy dissolved into laughter while Theo sent a look at her girlfriend who was buttoning up her shirt.

Ten minutes passed and they all quietly watched the movie. Lucy wasn’t completely sure what was going on but there were swords and action so she was enjoying herself. The movie was actually much more interesting than she thought it would be. Not to say that she wasn’t a fan of old movies, but, well, yeah. After ten minutes Lucy decided that her girlfriend was much more interesting than Gene Kelly and turned her attention to her. Slowly, she started peppering kisses up and down Theo’s neck. Two minutes passed and Theo didn’t stop her, so she began licking and sucking, with just a few bites in between. It took Philip longer than she expected to notice but he soon began kissing her other side.

Lucy could tell Theo was pretending not to notice and just watch the movie and she succeeded for about ten minutes. Both of them felt Theo’s cheeks redden under them and Lucy knew that it wouldn’t take long for her to break. And it happened, very suddenly.

Theo let out a loud sigh, shook her head and climbed onto Lucy’s lap. It dissolved into chaos from there. First off, the three hadn’t figured out who to make out together, so there was a good five minutes of them getting their way around that, and then they ran out of space, so Philip ended up bumping his head against the roof, twice. Somehow or another they ended up in the backseat, all piled on top of each other. They distantly heard the end credits play in the distance some time later, and that’s when Theo’s head popped up.

“You two made me miss the end of my movie.” Theo complained, sitting back on Phil’s thighs.

“I own it on DVD if you really want to watch it, babe.”

“That’s different.”

“Nerds.”

“You’re watching it with us, for real this time.”

“Uh-huh, you do that. Here, hand me the keys.” Lucy climbed over into the driver’s seat and started the car.

“Just to let you know, I hate both of you.” Theo crossed her arms and in response received two kisses on her cheeks from her two lovers.

“Love you too, bae.”

“Love you, babe.”

As Lucy shifted the car into reverse Theo wondered how she ended up with these two and realized she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading :D comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated


	2. First Time Meeting the Hamiltons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy's nervous about meeting her boyfriend's family, but she finds that they're not as scary as she thought they'd be.
> 
> takes place in January 2012

“Your family’s cool, right?” Lucy asked for the tenth time that day.

“Babe.” Philip looked at her. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“But there’s  _ so many _ of them.”

“Aren’t you the sixth child in your family?” Theo asked.

“Well, yeah, but at least we stopped at six. Your mom’s pregnant  _ again _ Phil.”

“The more the merrier, right?”

“Are you guys trying to start your own baseball team?” Lucy asked.

“Working on it, yeah. We might need a few more members, though.”

Lucy and Theo rolled their eyes. Especially Theo, seeing as she was an only child.

“None of that, you two.” Philip said, trying to act serious. “It’s my birthday and you have to be nice.”

“We were nice to you last night, babe.” Lucy smirked and Theo narrowed her eyes at her.

“Let’s not be that kind of ‘nice’ around my family, okay?” Philip said with a smile, but his eyes meant business.

Lucy reached over and kissed his cheek. “No promises, babe.”

“We’re here, you heathen.” Lucy let her worry slip through for just a second before putting a lopsided grin back on.

Both Phil and Theo noticed this, even though they pretended they didn’t. They both knew Lucy was nervous about meeting Phil’s family, especially after all that had gone down four years ago. Even Philip didn’t know how his parents would respond to actually meeting her, but he was considerably less worried than Lucy was.

Philip and Theo held Lucy’s hand as they walked up to Phil’s house. Lucy noticed right away that it was big, bigger than she thought it would be. Although, that wasn’t surprising, seeing as his family was still growing. And it was bright. Even from outside she could see the family through the windows, laughing and smiling. Although, that pit of dread was still settled in her stomach.

Lucy didn’t have much time to prepare herself though, seeing as in less than thirty seconds they were through the door and engulfed by the Hamilton clan. Lucy kept a tight grip on Theo, partly for herself and partly for her girlfriend.

The Hamiltons were all smiles and hugs, mostly for Philip. Lucy and Theo stood awkwardly off to the side for a moment until Eliza stumbled upon them trying to find her way out of the crowd.

Eliza glanced at both of them, but her eyes went to Theo first. She smiled and embraced the shorter girl in a hug, greeting her with a quick hello. Then she turned to Lucy.

“And you must be Lucy.” Eliza smiled again, softer this time.

Lucy smiled awkwardly. “That’s me.”

“It’s a shame that we didn’t get to meet back then, but I can tell you’ve grown into a fine young woman. My son doesn’t stop talking about you, either of you for that matter.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Eliza laughed. “I don’t think I’m quite that old yet. Please, call me Eliza.”

“Theo!” All three women looked up to glance at Eliza’s husband John who was grinning at them. He hugged Theo and Lucy noticed that she smiled and hugged him back. For some reason, she felt like an outsider.

Not for long, though, because John soon embraced her. She was caught off-guard, since no one was touchy-feely in her family, but she appreciated it. It took her only a second before she hugged him back.

“So you’re Lucy.” He smiled, taking her in. She felt like she should’ve worn something nicer.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She said instead.

“No need to look so tense, kid. There’s a lot of us, but I promise we won’t bite.”

Lucy opened her mouth to reply until John continued, “Well, that’s not true. Beth, she’s two, and she’s decided that everything is edible.”

Both Lucy and Theo laughed, and that’s when Alexander walked over to them, with an arm slung around Philip.

“So these are the two girls you’re dating.” He smiled at both of them.

“It’s nice to see you again too, Mr. Hamilton.” Theo said.

“How many times have I told you to call me Alex?”

Theo laughed and looked down at her feet, which is when he turned to Lucy.

“And you’re the famous Lucy that I’ve heard so much about.” His tone was completely neutral and that pit of dread grew. She smiled, trying to come off as good enough for his son.

“Yes, that’s me.”

Alexander smiled. “Well, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard you’re double majoring in Political Science and Legal Studies?”

Lucy smiled. Now this was something she could talk about. “Yes, sir.”

“No need for that, we’re pretty informal around here.” He waved it off. “Now, you’re thinking about becoming a lawyer?”

“Yes. I figured out that it’s easier to help people when you’re with the law instead of against it.”

“You’re getting into law to help people?”

“Not necessarily, but if I can help someone along the way I won’t complain.”

Alexander studied her for a minute. She met his eyes, feeling much more comfortable now that she was talking about something she was good at.

“Did you decide to become a lawyer because of your father?” Lucy smiled, because he was trying to be subtle and failing incredibly.

“Not at all. My father has more of a philosophical mind, not a lawyer’s mind. He wanted me to pursue more of a science or English.”

“And you didn’t.”

“And I didn’t.”

He smiled again. “As a lawyer myself, I think you’ve made a fine choice. Leave Jefferson to his old dusty books.”

Lucy laughed, casually ignoring the jab at her father. “I’m a law student, you think that I don’t read dusty old books?”

“I can vouch for that, they get everywhere.” Theo piped up.

Eliza and John, who had both wandered off when Alexander came to talk to her, now returned with Angie and Jamie. Beth was sitting on Angie’s hip.

Introductions went quickly, seeing as the only person that really needed introducing was Lucy. Angie took a liking to her pretty quickly, and Beth tried to bite her, twice, which she assumed was a good sign. Jamie was a hot mess, but a lovable hot mess. The other three, Alex Jr., JC and William, were somewhere in the house but no one quite exactly knew where. They did decide to appear, however, when it was almost time for dinner.

Angie took a seat next to Lucy, this time without Beth on her hip. They’d exchanged a quick ‘hello’ but besides that hadn’t spoken. Now, at Philip’s birthday dinner, she felt like she was being interrogated by her. As they continued to talk, Lucy realized that she should’ve been worried about his sister, not his parents.

“How’d you meet my brother?” was followed by, “Did you hit it off right away?” but Philip didn’t intervene until, “Do you love my brother?”

“Come on now, Ange, no interrogations on my birthday.”

Angie opened her mouth to speak, but Lucy said, “I’ve got this one.” She turned back to Angie, “What about you? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?”

Angie smiled in a way that faintly reminded Lucy of her dad. “So now the interrogation’s shifted to me?”

“Fair’s fair, right?”

“You’ve got me there.”

Lucy didn’t get to question her long, however, because it soon shifted back to Philip and the fact that it was his birthday. Soon enough there were candles to blow out, cake to eat and gifts to open. Lucy forgot her anxiety and threw herself completely into her boyfriend’s family with no regrets whatsoever. And she found that she ended up having a good time (mostly because Philip loved the present Theo and Lucy got him; a special set of all the Shakespeare plays).

By the end of the night Lucy had fallen in love with all of the Hamiltons, and wasn’t as happy as she thought she’d be to leave.

“I told you they were cool.” Philip gloated once they got back into their car.

“Even Jamie?” Lucy raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, except him. But most of them are cool.”

“Are you trying to say that your dad is cool?” Theo asked incredulously.

Philip faltered for a moment. “Yes?” He said, uncertain.

“No, but seriously, your family is pretty great.” Lucy piped up.

“And you know they love both of you, even if they don’t act like it.” Philip directed at Lucy specifically. She swallowed and didn’t say anything.

“Well, either way, happy birthday baby.” Lucy changed the subject.

“You’ve hit the big 2-0 now.” Theo supplied.

“Oh man, that means I’m old now doesn’t it?”

“I’m getting you an old lady cane.” Lucy smiled.

“And I’ve got some vinyls that they probably played back in your day.” Theo laughed.

“You two are the worst.”  
  
“Whatever you say, old man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading :D comments and kudos are always appreciated


	3. First Time Sharing Clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo liked three things: being on time, nice clothes, and her SOs.
> 
> One out of three isn't that bad.

Theo woke up sandwiched between her two lovers and found herself feeling very at peace. Lucy’s legs were intertwined with hers and Philip had an arm slung over her, making her effectively trapped between them. There were only a handful of mornings where she’d woken up like this, between them, and she treasured each and every one.

She moved up to sit on her elbows, trying to reach her phone to check the time. She accidentally hit Philip in the head while trying to reach it, but he didn’t wake up. She swore that boy could sleep through anything. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes she glanced down at her phone.

“Shit!”                                   

She tossed her phone to some corner of the bed and shook Philip and Lucy awake.

“What the fuck?”

“I was sleeping.”

“We’re going to be late!”

It wasn’t possible for the three of them to scramble out of bed faster.

Their clothes were scattered across the floor and they were stumbling around half-blind as they tried to get some clothes on.

Theo found some jeans that looked vaguely like hers and threw them on, Lucy found some sweatpants that felt a little big, and Philip found some jeans that were _really fucking tight_. The three of them didn’t question it, just tried to get dressed.

Lucy picked up the first shirt she saw, which happened to be Theo’s blouse and she was halfway done buttoning it up when she realized and threw it at Theo. She already had some shirt of Philip’s on that was huge on her. She didn’t notice and was looking for a pair of shoes. Philip had managed to find one of Lucy’s band t-shirts and thrown that on, even though it was just a little bit tight on him.

Somehow they all managed to get on their own shoes on, but it was a struggle. All three of them made it to the door at the same time and had a hand on the knob. Lucy looked around at the two of them and laughed.

Phil and Theo looked confused until they looked at each other.

“Jesus fucking Christ, we look ridiculous.” Lucy doubled over laughing.

Theo stared down at her clothes in regret, pulled Philip’s jacket around her and rushed out of the room.

Phil and Lucy followed her, laughing wildly, until they realized that they had two minutes to get to class and broke out into a sprint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a headcanon that theo will literally die if she's late to anything but philip would be that person who can NEVER be on time to anything, like this kid will be late to his own funeral and it annoys theo so much
> 
> additionally lucy just kinda shows up whenever (but she's more on time than philip is)


	4. First Time with the Burrs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo takes her boyfriend and girlfriend home.

“Okay, so you two remember we’re having dinner with my parents tonight, right?” Theo walked into Phil’s dorm, where he and Lucy were watching TV.

Phil and Lucy blinked back at her.

Theo put her hands on her hips. “Do you two not remember?”

“What, of course we do.” “Yeah, dinner, I heard that.”

“You two don’t remember.”

“Yeah, sort of.” “Pretty much, yeah.”

Theo gave an exasperated sigh. “We’re leaving in an hour.”

“Shit, I call dibs on the shower.” Philip shot out of bed.

“Philip!” Lucy made a half-assed effort to race him to the shower but flopped back into bed a moment later. “No fair.”

She raised her eyes to look at Theo, who was still standing with her hands on her hips.

“He takes forever in the shower!”

She rolled her eyes and walked out of the room.

An hour and fifteen minutes later (Lucy blamed it on Philip taking forever in the shower) they were on their way to the Burr residence at the end of town. After a lot of pleading from Theo, Lucy was actually wearing a dress. Sure, it was one of Theo’s dresses since Lucy didn’t actually own any, but it worked. Both Phil and Theo complimented her, and he even caught her liking it at one point.

Both Phil and Lucy had met Theo’s parents before, just at different times. They both liked them, even if they could be a little strange at times. Or, really, just Aaron. Theodosia reminded both of them a lot of Eliza, except Theodosia was rougher around the edges and a different look in her eye. Neither Phil nor Lucy knew, but Theo’s mom had seen some shit.

Theo flung her arms around her dad as soon as he answered the door. Phil and Lucy just waved a polite hello and walked into the house. Theodosia was quick to greet them with a smile and told her husband to help her set the table.

For Lucy, it was like stepping back into a forgotten world. The house was different, but the feeling was the same. Theodosia was baking in the kitchen, Theo was joking around with her dad, and he was pretending to be more stoic than he actually is. It felt like home.

Except for the fact, of course, that Aaron Burr wouldn’t look at her.

She knew why. Everyone was skirting around the subject, but no one can erase those four days that she disappeared. It’s obvious that he hadn’t forgiven her, and she didn’t blame him. Theodosia sent a look towards Lucy’s way and motioned to the next room. Phil, Theo and her father were too busy to notice their absence.

Theodosia shut the door behind them and told Lucy to take a seat. She couldn’t decide whether this was good or bad yet.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen you. How’d you make it back to New York?” She asked.

“I went to UVA my freshman year of college and then I transferred to Columbia. That’s where I ran into Phil and then Theo.”

Theodosia nodded. “I’m happy for you, and I’m happy that my daughter’s happy. But that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned.”

Lucy looked down. “I know I messed up last time, but I’m not the same person I was three years ago. I won’t run out on her like that again.”

“You know that I wasn’t just concerned about Theo back then. I was worried about you too.” Lucy looked down at her feet. “What happened to you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. All you need to know is that I’ve changed since then and I wouldn’t do that to her again.” Lucy met her gaze plainly.

“I know you won’t do that to her, and I forgave you for it a long time ago. But you know that if you have any problems, whether they concern Theo or not, I’m here for you.” The corner of her mouth curved up. “And don’t worry about Aaron, he’s just overprotective. I’ll talk to him.”

“Yeah, I noticed that.” She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

“Just between you and me, he’s harmless.” Theodosia winked. “Come on, let’s go join the others.”

Theodosia followed Lucy back into the main room, where Phil, Theo and Aaron were still gathered in the kitchen. They hadn’t even noticed their absence.

After they sat down to eat Theo made eye contact with Lucy and motioned towards her mom. She thought Theo would notice, just because she was observant like that. Nothing escaped her.

Dinner, thankfully, went off without a hitch. Lucy had forgotten how enjoyable dinner with the Burrs could be, even if they could be a little strange. Plus, Burr warmed up to her again, so that was that.

“So what did you and my mom talk about?” Theo asked that night in their dorm.

Lucy shrugged. “Nothing really. Dinner was really good though, I forgot how well your mom can cook.”

“Luce, you’re avoiding the subject again.”

“We didn’t talk about anything. She just asked how I was doing.”

“You had to go into a different room to do that?”

“Look, we didn’t talk about anything, it’s fine.”

Theo dropped the subject then, like Lucy knew she would. She’d never been one for confrontation, and she knew that Lucy would tell her if and when she wanted to. Instead, she turned her back to Lucy and pulled the covers tighter around her.


	5. First Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil, Theo and Lucy celebrate their first Valentine's Day and ,surprisingly, it ends up okay.

“Hey Luce, you ready?” Theo was about to step into their dorm.

Lucy shot up to block the door. “No, you can’t come in.”

Theo rolled her eyes. “Why not?”

“Because you can’t.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. But we’re leaving in a few, that is, if Philip ever manages to get ready.”

“So we’ll be leaving in half an hour?”

“I’m trying to be optimistic.”

Lucy finished setting up their room (it was a Valentine’s Day surprise) and threw on the outfit Theo was making her wear. This one wasn’t too bad, just some fancy-ish red leggings and a black top. She threw on a pair of black pumps to match and tried to do something with her hair before giving up about thirty seconds later. A moment later she stepped out into the hall, making sure to shut the door behind her quickly so that Theo wouldn’t see.

Another twenty minutes passed and Philip was _finally_ ready.

“I swear to God, Philip, you’ll be late to your own funeral.”

“At least I’ll show up with style.”

Lucy and Theo grimaced towards each other and grasped his hands. The other two let Theo lead the way, since this was her Valentine’s surprise for them. They’d informally split Valentine’s Day between the three of them, since all three of them had planned something different. Theo was first, but so far it didn’t look like much. To Philip it just looked like they were walking down the sidewalk, but what did he know?

Little did the two of them know that Theo was leading them towards Central Park, where she’d quite literally planned the best Valentine’s Day. Or at least, she thought so. Well, actually, she just hoped they liked it.

One thing Theo liked about having two partners was that life was never boring. The last couple of months for her had been the best in her life, despite the other shitty things that were going on. But, she decided with steely resolve, today was for her and Philip and Lucy.

“Are you two ready for this?” She smiled, leading them towards the middle of the park.

“I was born ready.” Lucy grinned.

“Promise you won’t think it’s dumb and cheesy?”

Philip smiled and slung his arm around her shoulders. “Knowing you, it’s going to be cheesy, but don’t worry, we’ll love it.”

Theo smiled and hugged closer to Philip.

“Okay, this is it.” Theo led them to a quiet spot under a tree where a picnic basket was waiting for them.

She watched their faces with anticipation. She wasn’t disappointed. Philip’s face was the first to react and she watched happily as his eyes grew wide. Lucy shot her a happy grin and started walking over to their picnic basket.

“You like?”

“I _love_.”

“Who brought this out here?” Philip asked, taking a look inside.

“I did. This afternoon.”

“You ran all the way out here and all the way back to us, just to walk all the way back here?” Lucy asked incredulously.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Lucy and Phil smiled at her, both reminded that Theo could be amazingly thoughtful at times. The three set out their picnic blanket and Theo brought out the food.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Theo said, reaching into the basket, “I picked up some champagne.” She held the bottle out for them to see and was met with oohs from the other two.

“You’re not even 21 yet.” Philip said.

“Where’d you get it from?” Lucy was more curious than surprised. There’d been several nights back in high school where Lucy, and later, Theo had snuck some from their parents’ cabinet.

Theo smiled mischievously. “That doesn’t really matter.”

“Ah, come on now.”

“Spill.”

“I’ve got friends in high places.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Friends that are older than you.”

“That’s not the point. Either way, I’ve got it and I’m sharing it with you two.”

Phil and Lucy shrugged. “That’s fine by me.”

Theo grinned and poured it into three different glasses. The trio clinked them together, only because Philip wanted them to, and drank.

“Isn’t a little early to be drinking?” The corners of Lucy’s mouth turned up.

“By my count,” Philip looked at his watch, “it’s 5:03.”

They toasted to that.

Theo had packed some other food in her picnic basket, but it seemed more like an appetizer than anything else. Lucy took note of this, since she didn’t know what Philip was planning.

Theo rested her head on Lucy’s lap, who started playing with her hair a moment later. Philip jokingly put his legs on Theo’s belly and faked sadness when she shoved him off.

“I don’t want your nasty feet on me.” Theo said disgustedly.

“They’re not nasty, I showered.”

“Believe it or not, babe, that doesn’t mean we want to be anywhere near your feet.”

“I see how it is, you just don’t appreciate me.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, can we stop talking about your feet?”

“Fine, fine.” Philip wrapped his arm around Lucy’s shoulders and grinned.

They dissolved into pointless banter for a few minutes before Philip said that it was his turn.

“No, your turn doesn’t start for technically,” Theo looked at her watch, “four minutes.”

“Since when do we have a time limit?” Lucy asked.

“We . . . don’t?”

“I thought we don’t have to be at your thing until 6:30?”

“Yeah, but it’s 5:30 . . . and we live in New York City . . . and it’s 5:30.”

“Okay, okay, I get your point.”

Theo moved off of Lucy’s lap and took one final sip of her near-empty champagne glass. “Okay you two, get moving.”

Five minutes later (only because Theo rushed them) Philip was leading them downtown.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there, Luce.”

“You know I can’t stand not knowing.”

“I know, and that’s why I’m not telling you.” Lucy was about to make a comment when he added, “But don’t worry, you’ll like it.”

Theo smoothed out her dress and ignored her lovers. This time, she’d managed to find out what Philip was doing instead of Lucy and was incredibly proud of herself. But she kept silent. It wasn’t often she got to see her girlfriend squirm because she didn’t know something.

Right at 6:30 was when the trio ended up in front of an incredibly fancy restaurant.

“Philip-”

“You didn’t-”

“Oh yes I did.”

“But this is going to cost-”

“I don’t care what it costs. A fella’s gotta treat his ladies right, come on now.” He extended his arms and both took them. Philip only had to give his name and the waitress whisked them off, though not without a strange look.

“You made reservations and everything.” Lucy said.

“How very fancy of you.” Theo piped up.

“I mean I won’t have enough money to eat for the next couple of years, but you two are worth it.”

“You’re a true romantic, baby.” Lucy said and Theo pressed a kiss to his cheek.

The waitress put them towards the back, in a more private corner of the restaurant. Inwardly, the three were happy for it. The public wasn’t keen on polyamory yet and most people gave them weird looks whenever they went out on dates. The trio was getting used to it, but it still left an unpleasant feeling.

“Order whatever you want.”

“You’ve got enough to pay for all this?” Theo asked.

“Of course I do, Theo, stop worrying about it.” Philip squeezed her hand under the table.

She smiled. “Okay.”

Dinner was much more extravagant than the three of them were used to (which was saying a lot, since Lucy grew up with Thomas Jefferson for a father). Philip wasn’t sure he’d heard of half of the things on the menu and what he had heard of was just . . . strange.

They were stuffed by the time Philip paid the bill but Lucy was the one to finally pull the two from the restaurant. She dragged her two buzzed lovers back home with only a little bit of difficulty. She’d forgotten that they could barely handle mimosas, much less something with real alcohol in it.

“Where are we going, Luce?”

“I think we’re headed back home?” Theo said to Philip.

“Yes, we’re going back home.” She said, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend.

“Why?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Lucy lugged the two up to the dorm that Lucy and Theo shared (purely out of coincidence, so they said) but stopped at the door.

“Okay, you have to promise not to think I’m too cheesy.”

“You’re not cheesy, babe, Philip is.” Theo reached up to kiss Philip on the cheek.

“I’d take offense to that, but it’s true.”

“I’m _not_ cheesy though.”

“Go ahead and show us, babe.” He said to Lucy.

“Okay, okay.” She put her key in the door and opened it, pulling Theo and Philip in behind her. They gasped.

Lucy had set up the room to have a blanket tent in the middle, surrounded by fairy lights. It was like one of those forts she’d made with her sisters when their father wasn’t around to tell them no. To top it all off, there was a bottle of wine sitting at the entrance with two roses sitting by it.

“Hey Theo,” Philip turned to her, “I believe we’ve stumbled upon a true romantic.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Ooh, a feisty romantic.” Theo grinned, wrapping both arms around her middle. “I think it’s fantastic,” and proceeded to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“I want to see what’s inside,” Philip said instantly, and dived into the fort. Lucy and Theo followed in a moment and not-so-accidentally landed on top of him. Lucy was just happy that she’d put a lot of pillows on the floor.

Lucy barely had time to uncork the wine before Philip was already trying to get Theo out of her dress. After Theo started attacking her neck she gave up on the wine and went to go join the two behind her.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Theo whispered later that night, happily squished between Phil and Lucy.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” The two mumbled against her, both wrapping their arms around her just a little tighter. Theo smiled happily, curling into them. Happy Valentine’s Day indeed, and if Theo had her way there’d be many more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this chapter i wanted to mention the public's view of polyamory just a little bit and how it affects phil theo and lucy; it won't be a major thing but it'll be sprinkled throughout the rest of the fic


	6. First Time Introducing Each Other as Boyfriend/Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy drags Theo and Philip to a bar.

“You know, when you said that we were going to a bar I figured it would be classy. I should’ve known better.” Theo wasn’t really complaining, Lucy knew, she was just surprised.

“What, this is classy. Look, there’s only two couples making out in the corner and just one fight’s happened tonight.” Theo glared at Lucy, who simply smirked.

“It’s got personality, Theo.” Philip piped up, sipping his beer. There was an added bonus: they’d serve them even with their shitty fake ID’s.

“Personality’s one word for it.” Theo rolled her eyes but reached out for her drink.

“You two have fun discussing personality, I have to go take care of some real business.” Lucy set her beer down and started walking towards the bathroom.

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Theo asked.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “This bar is nothing if not safe.”

Theo looked around anyway. “If you say so.”

Philip nudged her. “Don’t worry, babe. The bar’s just got spirit, that’s all. It’s not like one of those fancy new bars you take us to sometimes.”

“Those bars are tasteful.”

“Look around! This bar’s tasteful.”

“If you say so.” Theo took a sip of her drink. They were right, the bar did have a certain feel to it that Theo wasn’t quite used to. But she could enjoy it. Or at least, she was trying to enjoy it until a man tapped on her shoulder.

“Excuse me miss, but you look awfully pretty tonight. How’sa ‘bout a drink with me and my boys?” Theo looked at the man from head to toe and decided that she never wanted to be within fifty feet of him ever again.

“No thank you.” She said politely, nudging Philip. He was talking to the people next to him, the social bastard.

“Aw, come on. Pretty lady like you could do well with a guy like me.” His breath stank of alcohol.

“I’ve already found my man, thank you very much.”

The greasy-haired guy took a glance at Philip (whose back was still turned) and said, “C’mon, baby, you don’t need a kid like that. You need a real man like me.”

“I’d rather not.” Theo ducked away and nudged Philip harder. She’d never been a social person and this was just making her anxiety worse. Philip (thankfully) had finally taken notice and now stood up to the guy. It didn’t look very impressive, since the guy had at least six inches on Philip but Theo felt better nonetheless.

“This is my girl you’re hitting on, man.” Phil was about as aggressive as a leaf.

“Your girl, huh? You don’t seem like the type that’s interested in girls.”

“You don’t seem like the type that girls like.” Philip rebutted, getting that look in his eye.

“What’s going on here?” Lucy, thank god, had finally arrived. Theo loved Philip to death, but there was no way that he could ever win a fight. Not physically, at least.

Before Philip or the guy could reply Lucy was talking again, “Hey man, I know you’re not trying to hit on my girl.”

The guy scoffed. “This ain’t your girl, it’s this kid’s.”

“Would I do this if this won’t my girl?” Lucy cupped Theo’s cheeks and kissed her and almost at once, Theo felt ten times better.

“And also, this kid here, is also mine.” Lucy slung her arm around Philip and kissed his cheek. “And you ain’t getting any of them.”

The guy glared at the three of them but walked off regardless. From a distance Theo saw his friends laugh at him and it brought a smile to Theo’s face.

“I love it when you get all southern over me, babe.” She bopped Lucy’s nose as she said so.

“I’m not a kid.” Philip pouted, taking a sip of his beer.

“We know.” Theo said, because it seemed like his pride was genuinely hurt. Lucy didn’t get this memo however and said, “Babe, I love you, but you’re a small guy.”

When Philip didn’t say anything Lucy whispered into his ear, “Besides, it’s not like you need to compensate for something.”

Philip grinned unashamed. “Thanks babe.”

Theo rolled her eyes at her two lewd lovers and took another sip of her drink. She’d need it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was inspired by the line 'and the ladies say my brain’s not where the resemblance stops’ bc i'm a mess


	7. First Time Sharing Drinks

The Hamilton house went to hell when Eliza left, and everyone knew it. She was in England visiting her sister for two weeks, but it’d barely been two hours before John had called Philip to come help them. Naturally, Philip had come right over, girlfriends in tow, and had wrangled his siblings (and his father) into something resembling order. It had taken a good few hours but every kid under twelve had been put to bed in some way, shape or form and now the four oldest Hamilton siblings (and their girlfriends) were splayed out on their couches, shamelessly digging into their parents’ liquor cabinet.

Theo was spread across Philip’s lap, with Lucy on his other side lounging on Angie. Alex Jr. and Lizzie were all over each other, as sixteen-year-olds were likely to do and then there was Jamie, who was just hanging out in the corner. Alone.

“How is it that you have two girlfriends and I have none?” He asked, head resting on his fist. He was a little bitter, not only because of the girlfriend thing, but because Philip was letting everyone but him drink.

Philip grinned, wrapping an arm around both of them. “What can I say? The ladies love me.” Jamie noticed that both of them rolled their eyes.

“You got lucky.” Theo told him.

“ _Very_ lucky.” Lucy added.

“If it makes you feel any better, kid, I have no girlfriend.” Angie piped up.

“You have no girlfriend _right now_. Doesn’t mean you’ve never had one.” Alex said from the other couch.

“What can I say?” Angie smirked, side-eyeing Philip. “The ladies love me.”

“They don’t seem to be loving you too much right now.” Jamie said.

“Shut up Jamie.” She snapped, but there was no real venom behind it.

“You two have fun being single ladies, I’ll be over here enjoying the dating life.”

“You three are already old people, you’re drinking wine for Christ’s sake.”

“Oh yeah, your parents have really good wine Phil, try this.” There was a collective eye roll in the room that the three didn’t notice.

Philip tasted it, giving his own drink to Theo. “This is better.”

“Okay but guys, try _this_.” Lucy passed her own drink between the two.

This continued for a good two minutes, with the other four rolling their eyes at each other.

“Do you three need a room?” Jamie finally asked.

Phil, Theo and Lucy stopped in the middle of what they were doing to glare at Jamie.

“Maybe we _should_ get a room.” Lucy said suggestively.

“Maybe the room right next to Jamie’s.” Philip added, sending a glance Jamie’s way.

“Oh God, please no, you have your own room. Very far away from mine I might add.”

“We’ll see about that.” Lucy smirked, taking a sip of her drink. “We’ll see.”

The room dissolved into laughter, with many thinly-veiled jokes made at Jamie’s expense. They were having such a good time that no one had noticed Alex and Lizzie slip away quietly, up the stairs, down the hall, all the way to Jamie’s room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor jamie he's just always left out of the group
> 
> also there may or may not be an update next sunday because the next chapter is going to be really long and i'm a really slow writer (plus i'm working on another non-ham project that's taking up a lot of my time) so if there's an update next sunday gr8 and if there's not then there will be something extra long sunday after next


	8. First Time Meeting the Jeffersons Part 1

If Lucy could have picked anywhere in the world to be, it would have been  _ anywhere _ but here.

It had all started with that damn e-mail a week ago. He could’ve just texted her, he had her number, but no, he had to be formal and send an e-mail. Worse yet, it was from his work e-mail. 

Did he not think she’d know who he was? She was surprised that he hadn’t sent a formal invitation in the mail, that was more his style.

Originally, she didn’t even want to open it, and she didn’t. But then, four days ago, she’d left her laptop open on her e-mail and Theo had glimpsed it. She couldn’t blame her, most people would be ecstatic to receive an e-mail from Thomas Jefferson.

Theo had confronted her about it as soon as she’d gotten back. To make matters worse, she’d gotten Philip.

“Why didn’t you tell us your father wants us to come to Monticello?” Theo had asked.

“I didn’t think it was important.” Lucy had replied. “We’re not going anyway.”

“You’ve met our family, but we haven’t met any of yours.” Philip had said. “Isn’t it time?”

“No.” Lucy had said bluntly, to the disdain of both her partners.

“ _ Lucy _ .”

“I dated you for a year in high school and I never once met your family, Luce.”

“We’re going to have to meet them eventually.” Philip had backed.

“That doesn’t mean we have to meet them now.”

Philip and Theo both knew Lucy didn’t have a good relationship with her family, though they didn’t know why. She never spoke about them and whenever her father came up in conversation she’d change the subject. It was like she didn’t want anyone to know about her family, and nobody even knew why. 

“ _ Lucy _ . It’s time.”

“I don’t understand why you want to meet them so bad, they’re nothing special.”

“Obviously they are, since you keep them a secret from us.”

“I  _ don’t _ want to talk about it. Can you just drop it?”

Thankfully for Lucy, both of them dropped it for the rest of the day. But, the next day went just the same.

“Your father has personally invited the three of us to Monticello, he wants to meet us Lucy.” 

Theo and Philip ambushed her after she came back from her last class, something that she did  _ not _ care for.

“He doesn’t want to meet you, Theo, he wants to  _ judge _ you. There’s a difference.”

“Meet us or judge us, it doesn’t matter. We’ve already booked three plane tickets.” Philip told her.

Lucy wanted to rip her hair out or scream or both. “Why the  _ fuck _ would you do that?”

“Because it’s time to get over yourself, Lucy. We’re heading for Monticello in three days. We’re 

meeting your family, and we’re going to celebrate  _ your _ birthday with  _ your _ family. It’s time.”

Lucy didn’t really have a response and because of that she was now sitting in the aisle seat on an airplane headed straight for Richmond. Theo had the window seat and poor Philip was stuck in the middle. He’d fallen asleep on Theo’s shoulder, though, so she guessed he was doing just fine.

The few hours between New York and Richmond passed much faster than she ever wanted it to and before she even knew what was going on she was being pushed into a rental car and on the road to her father’s house. It was a house, not a home, because no one had ever been happy there, not one time.

Theo and Philip chalked Lucy’s silence up to her being pouty and didn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation or how she felt about her family. They’d never known what being distant from family was like since they’d both grown up in loving households and both of them had ideas that this would help but there was the nagging suspicion that it wasn’t.

Philip and Theo both gasped when the house came into view. Lucy wasn’t surprised, most people did. It was an elegant home with sprawling gardens with palladian columns and a domed roof. No one doubted that it was a beautiful home, but few knew that the beauty was only on the outside and didn’t lie within any of its inhabitants.

Lucy showed Theo where to park, since she knew that her father or her sisters would get mad at them if they parked anywhere but in the  _ proper _ spot. While Phil and Theo chatted about the house Lucy got their bags out of the trunk and slammed it down. They didn’t seem to notice, too engrossed in the house.

She beckoned them on to the front entrance. She’d never understood why they needed such a grand entranceway in the first place, there wasn’t really a use for it.

She had to knock on the door since she’d thrown away her key when she moved to New York. 

As she knocked Phil and Theo turned their attention to the door and scampered over, standing right behind her on either side.

After what felt simultaneously like a lifetime and mere seconds the door opened to reveal Martha, Lucy’s eldest sister. She was tall, and used it to her advantage. They instantly knew that Martha was a professional, if cold, woman who wouldn’t take any shit from anyone. Martha resembled her father the most out of all of them in looks and personality. Out of all of them she was the closest to him and seemed to be the only one who would bother to spend her free time with him. As a result, they’d never gotten along.

Martha looked her up and down quickly, as well as scanning her two lovers. Lucy knew what she was doing, since she’d grown up with this gaze. She was judging them, as she knew she would.

“Lucy.” She said. Even after all this time, she still sounded like a snake. “How nice it is for you to come back to us.”

Theo and Philip shared a glance behind her before turning back to look at Lucy’s sister.

“I figured it was time to bring my lovers to come meet my family. I told them it was a bad idea, but here we stand.”

Martha fixed her gaze on the two standing behind Lucy. “Yes, these must be your . . . partners.”

Lucy inwardly groaned. “They’re my boyfriend, Philip Hamilton by the way, and my girlfriend Theodosia Burr.” She made sure to put emphasis on their last names. She saw Martha’s polite smile turn into a more twisted one at that mention. Lucy did it for a reason than just being petty. At that moment, Lucy and Martha’s father was running against Theo’s for president. It was no wonder that Martha, who was shaping up to be First Lady, wouldn’t like having a Burr in her home.

Philip was the first to step forward with his big boyish smile plain on his face. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Jefferson.”

Lucy instantly knew that he’d made a mistake. “It’s Mrs. Randolph,” Martha told him, “I see my sister hasn’t told you much about me, then.”

Theo covered. “Lucy did tell us about you but we know you go by Ms. Jefferson most of the time because of the campaign ads.”

“Yes,” Martha eyes her, “You’d know something about that . . . because of your father.”

“I stay out of my father’s campaign.”

“Why would you do that?” Martha asked like she couldn’t believe someone wouldn’t want to be involved in politics.

“I need to focus on my studies. And my father can manage his campaign without me.” Lucy knew that Theo meant it nonchalantly, but Martha was going to take it as an attack on her.

“Oh, yes. Those studies of yours must be much more important than the Presidency.”

Theo didn’t rise to the bait, but shared a look with her lovers.

“C’mon, let’s just get inside.” Philip said, breaking the tension. The three grabbed their bags and walked inside, following Martha through the main entrance hall into the living room.

To Theo and Philip, it didn’t look like a proper living room. The couches and chairs looked like something that wouldn’t be comfortable to sit in, no matter how you tried. The two had to give Jefferson points for style though, since the entire room gave off an effect of power and importance. Neither of them knew if they expected anything different.

Most of the other Jefferson kids were seated on the uncomfortable chairs, centered around a coffee table in the middle. Theo noticed that all of the glasses had coasters.

“Lucy!” Philip believed it was Elizabeth, Lucy’s youngest older sister. She went to college in New York like them, and was just finishing up her senior year. She was the only one Lucy ever casually mentioned.

“And this must be Philip,” she smiled at him, “and Theo.”

Before the three could say anything she turned to Lucy. “And how is it that, even though we live in the same city, you never call me up? What’s a girl supposed to think?”

“Sorry,” Lucy said, scratching the back of her neck, “I’m a busy woman.”

Elizabeth eyed the two behind her suggestively. “I bet you are.”

Theo blushed and Philip smirked.

“You are such a child.” Martha sniffed.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Marty, it’s just a bit of fun. That does still exist, right?”

Martha raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond.

“God, she didn’t even let you put your stuff down,” Elizabeth noted, looking at the heavy bags by their sides. “C’mon, let’s get you three upstairs.”

“Is that Lucy?!” A voice sounded from the top of the stairs. The four looked up to see a man who was the spitting image of Thomas Jefferson grinning down at them.

This, gladly, was not Thomas Jefferson but instead his only son, TJ. Out of all of them, he was the most like their mother, so bubbly and happy. He always managed to brighten up a room, even if it was a room full of his family. Even Lucy smiled. TJ was her favorite sibling by far. 

Her 6’3 brother darted down the stairs, surprisingly agile for his size and pulled Lucy into a bear hug. Behind her she could hear snickering, probably at the fact that TJ had lifted her right off her feet.

“Damn kid.” TJ said, looking behind at Phil and Theo. “I don’t know how you got one, much less both of them.”

“What can I say?” Lucy laughed, at ease with her brother. “I’m a talented woman.” She flicked her tongue out for good measure.

“I saw that!” They heard Martha scold from down the hall.

The other five ignored her.

“Alright, kiddo, introduce me.” TJ gestured to the two standing awkwardly behind Lucy.

“My girlfriend Theo and my boyfriend Philip.” Lucy said simply, gesturing to each of them.

TJ had a lopsided grin on his face. “I’ll never understand how you get more booty than I do, little sis.”

Theo blushed scarlet.

“Leave my little innocent girlfriend alone, she’s squirmy.”

“I am not!” Theo said indignantly. Philip swung an arm around her. “You are.”

Theo rolled her eyes. “C’mon, let’s get upstairs. I’m tired.”

“Ooh, you better not be tired yet, we’ve got a long night ahead of us. You still have to meet three Jeffersons.” Lucy told her.

Both Theo and Philip groaned.

TJ motioned to the stairs and Lucy nodded. Her brother picked up at least half of their luggage and Philip (of course) had to rise to the challenge and pick up the rest. There really wasn’t that much of a challenge, seeing as TJ had just casually picked it up and wasn’t testing Philip, but he thought he was. And either way, it was pretty funny seeing their 5’8 boyfriend lift as much luggage as a 6’3 man.

“Just wait till you see Lucy’s room.” Elizabeth leaned over and said to Theo.

“Wait, what?” Lucy asked. “Has no one renovated my room?”

Elizabeth chuckled. “Nope, little sis. It’s the same as the day you left it.”

Theo could  _ see _ the blood drain out of Lucy’s face. “Oh no.” She whispered.

Suddenly she dashed up the stairs, past the boys, down the hallway, all the way to a white door which she promptly shut and locked behind her.

“What’s that all about?” Theo asked Elizabeth.

“Just wait and see.” She smiled mischievously.

“I bet you ten bucks there’s a Linkin Park poster in there.” Philip looked back and grinned.

“I’ll bet you twenty there’s a Blink-182 one.” Theo responded.

“Oh man I’ve been waiting for this day to come.”

“Come on, Luce, let us in.” TJ knocked on the door, and then proceeded to bang his head against it a couple of times. “My arms are tired.”

“No, no one can come in! Not until it’s all burned!  _ Burned _ !” Lucy’s voice carried through the door, followed by the distinct sound of posters being torn off walls.

“ _ Lucy _ .” Theo said.

“Let us in.” Philip demanded.

“No!” Lucy said obstinately.

“Guys,” Elizabeth said from behind them, “There’s a key.” She dangled a silver key on a chain in front of her and both Phil and Theo dived like vultures for it.

“Isn’t that the key from Dad’s office?” TJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What Dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Elizabeth shrugged.

During this time Phil and Theo had managed to get the key in the lock and open the door and they practically fell inside once they did. But what they saw was better than anything they’d ever seen.

It was a tween girl’s dream. From floor to ceiling the room was covered in dozens of punk rock band posters, ranging from Green Day to Fall Out Boy. In between the posters were tons of Kerrang covers plastered with more punk rock bands. Philip wasn’t even sure if the walls were white or black. The bed was covered in dark purple sheets, along with a nightstand that had a record player sitting on top. Underneath were dozens of different vinyls that covered all kinds of rock but on top was the Black Parade. To top it all off Lucy was in the middle clutching a freshly ripped-from-the-wall Evanescence poster.

“This must be heaven.” Philip said, gazing around the room.

“This is hell.” Lucy responded, letting the poster drop to the ground. She was as red as a tomato.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us?” Theo looked around in awe.

“It was a  _ phase _ .”

“Looks like an obsession.”

“It was 2005, leave me alone.”

“At least you learned how to do proper eyeliner.” Elizabeth commented from the doorway.

“I’m pretty sure the emo phase taught  _ everyone _ how to do eyeliner.” Philip told her.

Everyone turned to give Philip a questioning glance.

“What? I had my guyliner phase just like everyone else.”

Lucy and Theo gently gasped. “I need pictures.”

“Nooooo. My dad  _ still _ makes fun of me for it.”

“I’m calling your dad.”

TJ dropped their bags next to their bed. “You should do that later, and definitely let me be in the room. But for now, Jane and Polly just arrived.”

They’d been so busy talking about Philip’s emo phase that they didn’t notice the doorbell sound downstairs. The two heard Lucy sigh and realized that these sisters were probably not as fun as TJ and Elizabeth. Speaking of Elizabeth, she had already vanished as she had a tendency to do and was walking down the stairs when the four left Lucy’s room. 

“Jane and Polly aren’t married, right?” Theo asked her girlfriend, not wanting a repeat of what happened with Martha.

“Polly’s got a boyfriend but she didn’t bring him. You’re fine.” Theo breathed a sigh of relief.

From halfway down the stairs they could see the front door and they watched Martha let Polly and Jane inside. Polly came first, tall and elegant like her older sister. She gave off a similar air of importance but seemed nicer than Martha. Jane followed after her and was much more petite than the other two. She looked more like Lucy than the other two did and had vitiligo. Theo remembered Lucy mentioning something about her sister having that and her saying that she was the only sibling to inherit it from their mother. Both were dressed in what Martha would call slacks, that being a pair of jeans and a blouse. However, Polly had on heels while Jane only wore flats. As they descended the stairs she saw them exchange pleasantries with each other, even a hug, but it looked more like a courtesy hug than a real, loving hug. She would know, she’d been over at the Hamiltons’ long enough.

“Lucy!” Polly smiled, seeming genuinely excited to see her youngest sister. “I’d heard you were coming but I didn’t believe it until now.” She embraced her. Theo saw her hug stiffly back.

“Well, I’m here.”

“How’ve you been? Oh, we’ll catch up later. We have the entire weekend to do that, right?”

“Yep. All weekend.”

Polly smiled, but this time it seemed a little more strained. Probably since she’d caught sight of Phil and Theo lurking behind her and TJ, but who’s to know for sure? She patted Lucy on the back and went to go say hello to her brother, while Jane came up to hug her sister.

“It’s been too long, little sis.” Jane began, smiling. It looked like a poor copy of Martha and Polly’s smiles.

“Yeah, what, since the summer before my junior year?” Lucy pointed out, but didn’t seem to mind as much as Jane thought she did. However, Jane did gulp and scratched the back of her neck.

“Four years is a long time, isn’t it?” Jane looked down and seemed a little bit upset. Theo almost felt sorry for her. She seemed kind, but she also thought it might be an act.

“Only a little bit.”

“We’ve got this weekend though.” Jane pointed out. “We can catch up.”

“We’ll do that.”

Polly, who was finished talking with her brother, now turned to Theo and Lucy.

“And these must be your . . . partners.” She spent a little too long searching for the right word.

All of a sudden they had the two new Jeffersons fix their gaze on them like they were pieces of meat on display. They now knew what Lucy meant by being judged.

“Yes,” Lucy said, gratefully turning away from Jane, “This is my girlfriend Theodosia and my boyfriend Philip.”

There was a collective ‘hmm’ as the two worked it out in their minds.

“Their parents are Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.” Martha said, bringing the attention to herself.

Both sisters raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” Jane asked.

“Isn’t it funny that our fathers are running against each other and yet you’re dating? How ironic.”

“We’ve been dating for far longer than our fathers have been running.” Philip said, even though his father technically wasn’t running for anything.

“Right.” Polly said. “You’ll have to tell me this story. Lucy,” she looked at her sister, “has been very dry on the details.”

“You haven’t asked.” Lucy told her.

“You don’t answer my calls.” Polly retorted.

“Alright!” Martha called, once again turning the attention to herself. “There’s a couple of announcements I’d like to make in the living room.”

“Why can’t we do it out here?” TJ asked.

“Because,” Martha said, fixing her gaze on him, “It’s better to do it in the living room.” No one argued with Martha when she said things in  _ that _ tone. Though it was practically pointless the five Jeffersons, Hamilton and Burr followed Martha into the living room and sat down.

“To begin things,” Martha began with a political smile, “I’d like to thank you all for being here for Easter . . . and for Lucy’s birthday,” she added as an afterthought. “It means a lot to our Father.”

“Yeah, where is he?” asked Elizabeth.

“He’s held up on the campaign trail in Philadelphia. However, he is catching a flight later tonight and will be home by tomorrow morning.”

“So he invited us all here and yet he’s not even here?” TJ asked.

“He’ll be on his way shortly, TJ. He told me to tell you all to not wait up for him, as he’ll be getting home quite late.”

“As if.” TJ muttered under his breath, followed by a grunt of agreement from Lucy. Martha glared in their direction before continuing.

“The second item is that my husband-”

“The one you hate?” asked Elizabeth. She too earned a glare from Martha.

“I don’t hate him, Elizabeth. If I hated him I wouldn’t have married him.” She spoke each word slowly, like she was talking to a child.

“If you say so,” was all Elizabeth said in response. Everyone but Theo and Philip knew that Thomas Randolph was not an impressive man and that the two had not married for love.

“Anyway, my husband Thomas and my children will be arriving within the next hour. After they arrive dinner will be served-”

“Who’s cooking?” Lucy piped up. “Last I heard Sally was gone.”

“Ms. Hemings has been out of our service for three years, Lucy. In that time don’t you think there would have been another cook hired?”

“Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t you.” Lucy smirked.

“It isn’t.” She resumed to speaking to everyone. “Until dinner you have free reign of the house. I will be in Father’s study if anybody needs me.”

With that Martha left the room and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone, that is, until Polly and Jane pounced on the three.

“So explain to me how . . . this,” Polly gestured to them, “works.”

“We’re all dating each other. It’s pretty simple.” Lucy replied with a hint of bitterness.

“We’re a couple, there’s just three people involved instead of two.” Theo smiled and patted her hand on Lucy’s back, silently telling her that she’ll handle it. Both Lucy and Philip sighed with relief, since neither of them wanted to take  _ that _ subject.

“And how did this . . .” Jane gestured to them like Polly did, “begin?”

Theo smiled patiently. “It all started back in 2007, when Philip and Lucy met in high school,” she began to recount their entire story from beginning to now. Sometimes Jane and Polly would intervene to ask a question or vaguely insult the three of them. After a few minutes Elizabeth had disappeared but TJ stayed downstairs with them while Theo explained everything. He got up and wandered a few times but he always ended up draped over the couch with the trio.

“How very . . . interesting.” Polly said when Theo finished. She said it in the way that adults do when speaking to children who they don’t deem as capable as they are. Lucy groaned.

“We should probably get settled in,” Philip intervened before Lucy could make a snarky comment. “Come on, let’s go upstairs.”

“We should probably get settled in too, Polly.” Jane said to her younger sister and the four Jeffersons, the Hamilton and the Burr made their way upstairs.

Once the trio and TJ were safely behind Lucy’s door and away from the rest of the family is when they finally let their guards down. Philip collapsed on the bed, soon followed by Theo laying across him and Lucy intertwined with both of them. TJ opted for the beanbag in the corner.

“Okay so,” Philip started, “what’s the deal with your family?” Both Lucy and TJ let out a humorless laugh.

“Which order do you want to start in?” Lucy asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Least asshole-ish to most asshole-ish?” Theo suggested.

“So disregarding TJ, since he’s obviously the least asshole-ish,” Lucy smiled at him and he grinned, “we’ll start with who, Elizabeth?”

“Elizabeth is probably the least asshole-ish.” TJ agreed.

“She kind of seems like she’s here one minute and gone the next.” Theo observed.

“Yeah, that’s true. We don’t hear much from her, to be honest.” Lucy replied.

“After she left for college she just kind of disappeared.” TJ told them.

“She’s always been a good person, though. Ever since we were kids she was the one getting me out of possible fights with everyone else.”

“She’s a sneaky one to be sure.” TJ agreed.

“So she lives in New York with us, but we never see her?” Philip seemed a little confused. “How can you live in the same city as your sister and never see her?”

Lucy shrugged. “New York’s a big city. And she goes to NYU, not Columbia like us.”

Philip shrugged back, not really understanding how a person could live without their family for that long.

“Next?” TJ prompted after a moment of silence.

“Jane?” Lucy suggested, to which TJ shook his head.

“I’d go with Polly.”

“Polly? Why’d you go with Polly?”

“She genuinely cares about us, unlike Jane who’s more ruthless.”

“Jane doesn’t have a personality.”

“But she’s kind of a bitch. All she cares about is becoming a partner in her new law firm and  _ trust me _ , she’s not doing it ethically.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, I didn’t know she’d go  _ that _ far.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m ranking Jane above Polly. She’s arrogant, yeah, but she just wants the best for you.”

“Eh, I guess.” All three of them knew Lucy just didn’t want to admit it.

“So after Jane and Polly, who’s next?” Lucy then asked.

It only took a look between them to know the answer. “Martha.” The two Jeffersons said at the exact same time

“She’s uh,” Philip paused, trying to find the right word, “intense.”

TJ and Lucy chuckled at that. “She’s a little bit more than intense.”

Philip nodded. He knew that, he just didn’t want to sound rude. This was their sister, after all.

“Martha is . . . well, she’s basically a carbon copy of her father.” Both Philip and Theo noted how Lucy said ‘her’ instead of ‘our’.

“She’s smart, definitely smarter than me.” TJ gave her.

“She’s probably smarter than all of us,” backed Lucy, “but that doesn’t make her any less of an asshole.”

“She could be using her talents to make the world a better place and instead she’s running our father’s campaign.” TJ sighed.

“She’ll be running her own soon, just you wait. If your aunt,” Lucy nodded towards Philip, “doesn’t beat her to it I guarantee she’ll be the first female president.”

“You mean Aunt Angelica?” Lucy nodded. “She’ll beat her to it, just watch.”

Everyone in the room nodded their agreement.

“Your dad, though,” Theo began, “is definitely going to win.”

“Give your dad a chance, Theo, he might pull through. Hopefully,” Lucy muttered under her breath, “he’ll pull through.”

But Theo shook her head. “No way. Your dad’s way more charismatic than my dad and that’s what wins.”

“Enough political talk, you three. I live in DC, I get enough of it every day.” TJ didn’t seem too bothered, but everyone could tell he wanted to change the subject.

“You could get out of political talk if you moved up to New York with me.” Lucy said with just a glimmer of hope.

TJ shook his head. “It’s not for me.”

The room quieted then, since Phil and Theo didn’t know how to change the subject and TJ and Lucy became involved in their own thoughts.

“So, um, what’s for dinner?” Philip asked and managed to bring a smile to everyone’s faces.

“Do you ever think with your brain and not with your stomach?” Theo asked, pointing to each as she said so.

“Not usually, no.” Philip grinned and the room burst into laughter.

Downstairs they heard the doorbell ring and the room quieted again.

“That’ll be Thomas and the kids.” TJ groaned, looking at the door.

“What, you don’t like your nieces and nephews?” Philip asked.

“It’s not that I don’t like them, they’re just so stoic. The oldest one, Anne, she’s only 11 and already she’s holding conversations that only adults should!” TJ sighed again. “They’re just kids after all.”

“How many kids does she have?” asked Theo.

“There’s five.” Lucy began, only to be interrupted by Theo.

“Five? Already? Isn’t she only 30?”

“She got married young, Dad wanted the match anyway so it happened.” Lucy explained.

“What are their names?” Philip then asked.

Lucy had to think for a moment. “There’s Anne, who’s eleven, Thomas, who’s nine,”

“There’s too many Thomases in this family.” Philip muttered, shaking his head.

Lucy continued, ignoring Philip, “Then there’s, uh, Ellen? I think? She’s seven. After that I don’t remember honestly.”

“The last two are Cornelia and she’s five and Virginia who’s two.” TJ finished for her.

“That’s too many kids.”

“Philip, you have seven siblings. Don’t even start.”

“Yeah, but there’s Martha and Polly and all the rest of them and  _ then _ there’s  _ more _ . I don’t have any nieces or nephews, that’s a completely different ball game.” Philip tried to explain, but no one really grasped his point.

“Come on you three, we’ve gotta head downstairs or Martha will have our heads.” TJ motioned, lifting himself out of the beanbag.

“Dinner’s going to be fun.” Lucy rolled her eyes.

Theo, forever optimistic, said, “It might not be all that bad.”

“You haven’t spent twenty-four hours with them yet.” Lucy cautioned.

“I’ll see you guys in a second, I’ve just gotta pop into my room.” TJ said, ducking into another room. Philip and Theo heard Lucy sigh between them, but didn’t ask.

Downstairs they saw Martha surrounded by one tall man and five children and even Jane was there, lurking in one of the corners. Theo briefly wondered where Elizabeth was, until they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Mother, who are these people?” The oldest one, who Theo assumed was Anne, asked.

“You know your aunt Lucy, of course, though it’s been  _ quite _ a while.” Another thinly veiled insult. “The other two are Philip Hamilton and Theodosia Burr.” Martha told her young daughter.

Anne seemed to ponder this information for a moment before saying, “You’re the son of Alexander Hamilton and the daughter of Aaron Burr, my grandfather’s political enemies. Why are you here?”

Theo was the one to answer. “Lucy is our girlfriend.” She stated simply and let the eleven-year-old figure it out for herself. Her mother didn’t look too pleased, she noted.

She could see the gears turning in Anne’s mind as she figured it out. “How can both of you be dating my aunt? Only two people can be romantically involved with each other.”

Both Philip and Theo could tell Lucy was about to blow her top, so he stepped in. “We break the rules a little bit, kiddo.”

“So you are all . . . in a relationship . . . with each other?” The girl asked.

“Uh-huh.” Philip replied.

“Come on, it’ll be time for dinner shortly.” Martha said before any of the three could corrupt her daughter’s mind any more.

Over the next twenty minutes everyone made their way to the dining room in one way or another. It was as elegant and cold of a room as the living room was and throughout the entire meal neither of them got completely comfortable. Elizabeth was the last to show up and when Martha asked while she was so late she shrugged, gave a noncommittal answer and sat down between TJ and Polly.

“So Lucy,” Jane said at one point, “I heard that you share a dorm with Theo.”

“Yes?” Lucy replied, not sure where she was going with this.

“I wonder how you managed that one.” She said suggestively, raising an eyebrow. Theo could tell Lucy was getting a little riled up as that’d been happening all day so she put a hand on Lucy’s thigh.

It didn’t seem to help much. “Perhaps the same way you managed to get your position.” Gasps erupted around the table but Jane’s eyes only hardened.

Before the situation could get any worse Theo stepped in, saying, “I’m afraid we’re all quite finished with our dinner. Good night everyone, we’ll see you tomorrow.” To Lucy she whispered, “Let’s go.”

As soon as they stood up Philip and Theo took Lucy’s hands and led her out of the dining room. She could feel the stares of Lucy’s siblings on her back as they walked through the doors and she was surprised to find that it really  _ bothered _ her. She’d built up in her mind that the Jeffersons were horrible people from how little Lucy spoke of them but she never expected them to be like this. She’d never seen a family that had so little respect for any of its other members and who made heartless jabs at the dinner table. She understood now why Lucy didn’t want to come here and why she never spoke about her family.

Theo sighed deeply. It was just two nights, they could handle that. Two more nights and then they’d never have to come back here again. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like this chapter was really depressing but also not as much as i think?? idk, jeffersons have issues
> 
> this is only the first part of this chapter because this has turned out longer than i expected it too and i sort of ran out of time to write it bc i procrastinate and i didn't want to introduce a ton of new characters in one chapter and not talk about them in the next (bc chapter 9 will take place a couple months after this)
> 
> part two should be up next sunday if i manage to be less of a mess than i am now


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